F1 » F1 Pre-season Test Barcelona: Hamilton: I couldn’t have gone faster… 10 March 2017
Lewis Hamilton says with the set-up Mercedes was running on its W08 during his final afternoon of pre-season testing he wasn't able to push for a faster lap time.
F1 Pre-season Test Barcelona: Hamilton: I couldn’t have gone faster…
Click here for full testing results from the final day of F1 pre-season testing at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona

Lewis Hamilton says with the set-up Mercedes was running on its W08 during his final afternoon of pre-season testing he wasn't able to push for a faster lap time and challenge timesheet topper Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari.

After Raikkonen set the new fastest lap of pre-season testing at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona on the morning of the final day with a 1m 18.634s it gave Hamilton the benchmark to beat but conceded Mercedes never truly hunted outright hot lap performance to challenge Mercedes.

Having been impressed by the Finn's lap time, Hamilton says his best effort of 1m 19.850s was the best he could produce given the set-up Mercedes ran including fuel loads, engine modes and aerodynamic configurations.

“Every year in testing the goal is not necessarily to go as quick as you can, it's to find out what you have in the car,” Hamilton said. “Potentially some teams sandbagging in the past, but I don't really see that as being a benefit to any team.

“Driving today, the time you saw was the time we could do. I didn't feel when I got out that I could have gone faster. But of course there are all sort of things that come into play to bring the time down, such as fuel loads, engine modes, those kind of things.

“The great thing is no one really knows. It looks very positive for Ferrari, that's for sure, and I don't think that's bluff. I think that's true. They've done a great job.”